Bella
by Laura1998
Summary: Bella is an average 16 year old... On the outside. On the inside, she is a philosophical old soul. She has no interest in love. Edward, on the other hand, is a typical 17 year old playboy, with intentions of cracking 'hard-to-get' Bella's shell. Will he succeed? AH.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: Hi! This is my very first** **FanFiction.** ** Chapters might be a bit shorter than your usual story. I had this story milling about in my brain for a few months now and finally got it down onto Word! Please enjoy.**

* * *

**BPOV**

Bella. Italian for beautiful. I was neither of those things. The word bella implied beauty, confidence, and grace. I was the exact and polar opposite. I was not beautiful. I was plain. Ordinario. I had brown hair that I was constantly smoothing flyaways from, dull, brown eyes, and I was unusually pale, for someone that lived in the sunny city of Phoenix, Arizona. I'd gotten teased a lot for wherever I went. I was also tripping constantly. If there were Olympics for tripping, I would've won the gold medal easily. It was a talent, really, the fact I could trip over my own two feet. This lead to frequent hospital visits, which made for a gigantic hospital file. My only friends, in fact, were probably the various nurses and doctors. But then again, they were probably paid to be nice to me. Unlike me, my mother Renee was a supermodel, who had travelled all over the world. That was the only positive thing about being the daughter of the famous Renee Swan. Oh, excuse me, Renee Dwyer. One of the things I liked was travelling. That way, I'd never had to make friends with anyone. What was the point? I was an outcast anyway. Once people found out I was the ugly duckling, they sneered at me wherever I went. I often found it easier to block the people's stares and whispers at school, and when I came home I'd often immerse myself in my music, playing my flute and reading. Soon, it had become a routine.

However, on my 16th birthday, my mother, and her husband Phil, had said it would be nice for me to go live with Charlie, my father. I was not very surprised at this news, as I had caught Renee and Phil often arguing about what to do with me, the hermit. I was never one for fiery discussions. I had simply nodded my head, and retreated back to my room. Soon enough, they came charging in. Renee, her eyes bright, with the thought of another responsibility finally lifting from her flighty shoulders, and Phil, a smile upon his face. I had a sneaking suspicion he never liked me much. Renee had sat down on the corner of my bed, and patted the spot next to her. I went over and had sat with a sigh, while they explained the details of where I would be going, and staying. I had originally thought that Charlie and I would live in the same house, but him being a distant CEO, the chances were slim. I was right. Renee had droned on and on about a 'lovely school that would be happy to have a very intelligent girl'. I tuned out most of her chatter, but I did manage to catch a few details. It was in London, England. I was pleased by this news. I found this charm in foreign places. The different culture and lifestyle fascinated me. My favourite place that I had visited thus far was Italy. I loved the peaceful scenery that Italy provided me with. However, I was quite excited to move to London. This excitement had gone down significantly when Renee told me I'd be attending a boarding school. I hated them. I'd attended one when I lived for a brief period of time in Ottawa. I found the people there were often snobby, and quite superficial. I opened my mouth to protest, when Renee bulldozed on. She told me that this was a lifetime opportunity and that these kids were academics, like me. I saw no way out. I couldn't stay with Charlie. It would almost be like living by myself. I welcomed this alternative to living with a whole bunch of prissy people; however she, along with Phil, had refused almost outright. Renee blabbered on about making connections for a future, that's how Charlie got started and now is a very successful CEO, etc. I tossed the idea of asking her why she didn't stay with him, but I knew that would be venturing into very dangerous waters, especially with Phil around. So I kept my mouth shut. I nodded, and they finally got up and left, with a sigh. I didn't like to talk much to people that wouldn't listen.

I heaved a sigh and went to my giant closet. I had quite a lot of clothes, although I didn't wear about half of it. Renee had pressured me into getting all this, saying that I should enjoy this luxurious lifestyle I had been blessed with. I disagreed vehemently. I saw no reason to waste money on frivolous things such as clothing. I would grow out of it soon, anyway. I was 5'6, nearing on 5'8. The tall genes from my mother had finally caught on. However, because my flight was leaving tomorrow, I had to start packing. I lugged out my giant Louis Vuitton suitcase out of the depths of my closet. I stuffed about half my closet in to my 7 suitcases. The rest didn't fit. I had planned to give them away to charity anyway. I didn't need it, and guaranteed Charlie would throw money at me to make up for him being distant. I threw what I needed into boxes haphazardly, and taped them up so the flaps would at least stay closed. I then stacked them up next to my door, and flopped onto my bed. This was it. My last night in Phoenix. Tomorrow, my life would change, for better or for worse I had no idea.

* * *

**Did you love it? Hate it? Indifferent towards it? Please do leave me your thoughts. **

**xo**


	2. Chapter 2

**Decided to do a special next day update! Sorry if some things are a bit off, it's been quite a while since I've been on an airplane. **

* * *

**BPOV**

I arrived at the airport in Phoenix, struggling to carry even two of my very heavy suitcases. Thank goodness Tyler was here to help. He was Renee's bodyguard, but I was grateful for the muscles that were carrying the other 4 of mysuitcases. He dropped them off at customs, and with a brisk goodbye, and a quick 'take care of yourself' awkward hug, he left. I preferred to suffer in silence anyway. I wasn't the most organized person on the planet, so when I arrived at the desk, and the lady asked in a monotone voice for my passport, it took about 10 minutes of rifling through my carry-on. I had pulled out various items, so on the desk of the now seriously pissed off lady, was a packet of half-melted gum, a pack of McDonalds coupons, a mini tissue packet, my headphones, three pairs of earphones, and a battered copy of Wuthering Heights. I smiled apologetically and handed over my passport. She took it from me with a barely-concealed grimace. I guess efficiency was something I needed to work on. After stamping it, she gave it back to me and with a pointed stare, I hurriedly took my things and left.

Customs was fairly easy to get through; it was getting on the plane that I hated. There was always a little bump that I unfailingly tripped over, every single time. I got in line behind a blonde businessman, and stared at the ground, looking for that one spot. Unfortunately, just when I was stepping over the bump, my foot decided to catch and I pitched forward. I shut my eyes, waiting for the inevitable rug burn and shooting pain. A few seconds later, I confusedly opened my tightly shut eyes. A pair of eyes that were not mine stared back at me. "Ah!" I gasped, and I just about fell over again. Luckily, the owner of the eyes was holding onto me quite tightly, and he righted me again. "Careful there, miss." I detected a slight Texan twang in the person's voice, and I looked at him fully. He had blonde hair, carefully gelled to an old-fashioned style. I could feel my face going tomato red. "Thanks." I muttered, and yanked my arm out. I hurried to my seat, and sat down. I sighed, and closed my eyes. Two minutes later, I felt a presence beside me and cracked open one eye. A tiny girl grinned at me. "Hi there!" She greeted me enthusiastically. "I'm Alice Cullen! Nice to meet you!" I sighed wearily. "Hi." She looked at me quizzically, with her head tilted slightly to the side. "Have I seen you somewhere before?" I sighed yet again before answering. Might as well tell her, it wasn't like I was going to see her ever again. "My name's Bella Swan." At the mention of Swan, her face completely lit up. "Your mother's name is Renee, right?" I fought to not roll my eyes. This kind of thing was so typical. "Yes." I answered. Alice was interrupted from bombarding me with more questions as a blonde haired guy appeared next to her. "Jasper! Did you know that Bella's mother's Renee Swan?!" Ah. Jasper. That was the name of the very same guy that had rescued me from a scratched up face. He smiled at me. "Howdy, Bella! My name's Jasper." I tentatively smiled back. "Hi, Jasper." A beat of awkward silence passed before Alice asked me if she and I could switch seats, so she could have me on one side of her to discuss fashion, and Jasper on the other side so she could lean on him when she got tired. I merely got up and moved, and a very enthusiastic Alice sat down in her seat. I could tell she wanted to start asking me various questions about fashion, my mother, the business, and more, but she was interrupted once again by the pilot's smooth voice. "Welcome to Air Phoenix. We are now preparing for takeoff. Please remain seated with your seatbelt on until further notice." The minute the pilot stopped talking, Alice picked up what she was going to say. "So, Bella, did you get to meet any famous designers?" I debated with myself internally for about a minute before deciding to answer truthfully. "Yes. I've met Karl Lagerfeld, Phillip Lim, Stella McCartney, Alexander McQueen and Alexander Wang, Brian Atwood, Calvin Klein, Marc Jacobs, Derek Lam, and I guess a few more." Alice was so excited, she started bouncing in her seat. "Oh my goodness! I would just DIE if I met Karl Lagerfeld, ever!" Jasper smiled at me apologetically over Alice's shoulder. It was like he sensed my discomfort, for he laid a comforting hand on Alice. "Sweetie, maybe you should… Tone down the interrogation a little." Alice smiled sheepishly at me. "Sorry, Bella. I just get so worked up over fashion!" I smiled back. Alice seemed very nice, and it was nice to have a friend for the nearly 20 hour flight. "It's okay." We discussed fashion for about three hours, while Jasper watched a special on the war of 1812 on the airplane TV.

Soon, it was lunchtime. "What would you like to drink, dearie?" The flight attendant asked me, while she handed me a boxed plate of pasta. "Pepsi if you've got it, please." She handed me a chilled can of Pepsi and proceeded down the aisle. I opened the box and wrinkled my nose. I preferred to eat as little as possible; the airplane food never ran right with me, even if it was first class. "You hate airplane food too?" Alice asked. "Yeah, I get kind of sick if I eat too much of it. "Me too!" Alice said. "I'm not even hungry, what do you say we just sip on our sodas like the ladies that we are?" She wriggled her brows. I was finding Alice to be quite bubbly, and entertaining. "Sure, Alice." And just like that, we were back to discussing (or more listening to her ramble on while I listened.) By dinnertime, I had recounted to her all the stories about Renee. I myself was a very private person so I shared few details about me with her, but she didn't seem to mind, as long as a designer's name came up here and there. Her bell-like laughter made me feel slightly better about this trip, although I was saddened by the fact that I would probably never see her, or Jasper again. When dinnertime came, I was handed a box of lasagne, and another Pepsi. Pasta was frequent as airplane food; it was easy to prepare.

After dinner, we steered the conversation away from fashion for Jasper's sake, and talked about where we were headed, instead. I told Alice that I was being forced to go to some snobby boarding school in London, England. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jasper tap Alice in the side. She glanced back at him and gave him a barely-noticeable wink. I wondered what that was about, but I brushed it off as casual innuendo that I would rather not know about. Alice smiled at me, with mirth sparkling in her eyes. "Why, do you not like boarding schools or something?" I felt like Alice was someone I could actually talk to, so I gave her my entire tirade about how people at boarding schools were so superficial and full of themselves. At the end, Jasper burst out laughing, and Alice followed suit. "Which boarding school are you going to?" Jasper asked. I was quite hurt at that point, and I muttered out, "St. Michaels." '_Not that you care._' I added silently. Alice laughed even harder, with tears running down her cheeks. "So-sorry Bella, but we're going to the same school as you!" She managed to squeak out. I sat there, with my mouth open like a fish. I couldn't believe I told her all that! I buried my head in my hands, with my face flaming red. "Oh no no no…" I muttered under my breath. With one final gasp, Alice and Jasper stopped laughing. "Hey Bella, it's okay. Some people at our school really are superficial jerks!" I smirked at them. Suddenly, I felt like we had grown a lot closer. Alice smiled at me. "That's great Bella, you'll have us when you come to St. Michaels! Don't worry, nobody bites. Except maybe Rosalie." She winked at me. I looked at her confusedly. "Rosalie? Didn't you say everyone was really nice?" Alice answered, "Oh yes. They are all quite nice. Except Rosalie can be a little…" She trailed off, and Jasper answered for her. "Hostile. She doesn't really love new additions to the gang." I groaned. "Great." Alice giggled, and then said, "Well, we won't get any closer to our school for a long while and I'm quite beat. What do you say we pick up this conversation tomorrow morning?" I grinned at her. "Yeah. I'd like that." Alice smiled at me. "You know Bella, you look really quite pretty when you smile. You should smile more often." I blushed. It wasn't often I got compliments. "Thanks, Alice." I smiled at my two new friends, amazed at how quickly we bonded. "Goodnight, Bella." Said Jasper. "Night." I said, and fell into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed! Please leave me your thoughts, and a very happy new year to all of you! May 2014 be your best year yet.**

**xo**


	3. Chapter 3

**IB is an abbreviation for International Baccalaureate. It's a program with advanced classes, much like Advanced Placement. We're required to choose 3 or 4 high level courses and the rest standard level ones. Hope that clears some things up!**

* * *

**BPOV**

The next morning, after breakfast, we started talking about school. "What classes did you enrol for?" Alice asked. I blushed. "All IB courses." Alice grinned. "So did Jasper and I! Which high level courses are you taking?" "History, English, and Biology." I answered. "Jasper might be in your class! He loves history." I nodded, unsurprised. "And my brother Edward might be in your English and Biology class. Careful about him." Alice warned. "What do you mean?" We'd exchanged brief, trivial things about our family to one another, but I'd never heard the full story on any of them. "Edward's a player. He'll do just about anything to get your attention, make you fall for him, and then he'll lose all interest in you. I've seen it happen to the hoards of girls at our school." Alice made a face. "Trust me, I'm not interested in trivial things like love." I assured her. She seemed satisfied. "Just thought I'd warn you. My warnings have often fallen on deaf ears many times."

Soon after, our plane landed. I grabbed my things, and struggled with getting my biggest suitcase off the conveyor belt. I nearly toppled over, and a big hand grabbed the top of it and hauled it off like it was nothing. I looked up to express my thanks. Standing before me was an easily 6'6 tall beast of a man, with nothing but muscle. "Hi! Emmett Cullen." He extended a large hand, and I just stared at it blankly. He looked like a bodybuilder almost. After a minute, I snapped out of it and took his extended hand. "Bella Swan." "Alice told me you might need a little help, you looked like you would've toppled over from all that weight." He grinned. Of course, he was related to the energetic Alice. Suddenly, another blonde appeared right next to him. What was up with these Cullens and blondes appearing out of nowhere? I looked at her. Jealously stabbed through me. This was the look of a daughter Renee would've been proud to have. Long, smooth legs, a flat stomach, perfectly highlighted long blonde hair, and manicured nails. She was easily the prettiest girl I had ever seen. "Hi, I'm Bella." I extended my hand, expecting her to take my hand enthusiastically like the last three Cullens I'd met. "I heard. I'm Rosalie Hale." Instead of shaking my hand, she looked at it with disdain. So this was Rosalie. "Well.." I took my hand back with a blush. I was never good at awkward moments, I'd always end up blabbering. "So, who's picking you up?" Emmett interrupted. Relieved, I turned away from Rosalie's intimidating gaze and answered him. "My.. dad." "Oh, who's your-" He didn't get to finish his sentence, as a man even bigger than Emmett came up to me and asked gruffly if I was Bella Swan. I nodded mutely. So the great Charlie Swan had been too busy to come his only daughter up. Figures. I smiled apologetically at Emmett. The intimidating man seemed to be in a hurry. "Sorry, I have to run. See you in a week!" I waved at him as Charlie's bodyguard took my suitcases from Emmett and walked away. As I did, I heard Rosalie gasp. "THAT's Renee Swan's daughter?!" I sighed. I was going to get this at school, so might as well start getting used to it now, even if it did hurt periodically.

The big man put my suitcases into the trunk of a sleek, black limousine. "Thanks." I muttered, and slid into the seat. He nodded once, and got into the driver's seat. I didn't attempt conversation the rest of the way to my new boarding school. I wasn't much of a conversationalist. I was interrupted from my musings when I heard a deep voice. "Charlie has agreed to meet you at the school's main office." I nodded. Charlie was always one to pass on his messages by his many bodyguards or assistants. Soon, we arrived at the boarding school, and I looked up, impressed. The building was made out of red bricks, in a gorgeous castle-like shape. It reminded me of my carefree childhood, with lots of imaginary friends at adventures. I smiled briefly, lingering on the happy memories. However, I was broken out of my reverie by Charlie's bodyguard's gruff voice. "We're here." I thanked him, and walked out of the car, knowing he would get my suitcases. That was what they were paid to do. It saddened me sometimes, thinking that if Charlie was ever the victim of an assassination attempt, one of them would probably die. However, I preferred not to dwell on the inevitable, so I shook my head once and headed down the cobbled road.

Through the double doors, I was exposed to two sets of stone stairs. One set leading upwards and another leading downwards. I wondered what was downstairs, but I knew the main offices were located upstairs. I headed up the staircase, which lead to yet another set. I walked up those, and lo and behold there was another staircase to climb up on. It was a wonder I didn't trip at all, but I probably would on the way down. Finally I spotted the main office. It was mainly made of glass and cherry wood. When I walked in, I heard my father's voice. "Swan. She should be here any minute." I followed the voice into a very cozy looking office with plush leather chairs, an oak desk, and books lining every edge of the walls. I knocked once, and a pleasant female voice told me to come in. So I did. Standing in the doorway under the scrutinizing gaze of my new headmistress and father whom I haven't seen in years, I suddenly felt small. I fidgeted with my hands. "Please take a seat, dear. Isabella, yes?" I nodded. "I prefer Bella, though." "Bella is a beautiful name. Welcome to St. Michaels. I'm Headmistress Esme Cullen." "You're Emmett, and Alice's mother?" I blurted out. My father's head snapped towards me, and his eyes told me I should be careful around my new headmistress and show more respect. "Yes dear, you've met them?" I nodded, blushing. "So Mr. Swan, if you can read over these and sign where it requires, we should be all set. Also Bella, I've taken the liberty to ask one of our older students, Angela, to show you around. I trust you've read the orientation package?" I nodded. "Good." Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. "Come in." Headmistress Cullen said. "Hello Headmistress Cullen." An Asian girl stood in the doorway. "Ah, Angela. Perfectly punctual as always. This is Bella Swan." She gestured to me. "Hi, Bella! I'm Angela, nice to meet you!" I smiled at her. She seemed nice. I was beginning to like this school. It certainly had a much warmer atmosphere than the previous boarding school I went to. "So then I'll have Angela show you around, and she'll be happy to answer any questions you may have about the school or its facilities. Angela smiled at me again. "Come on, Bella!" I stood, and after giving my father a brief and awkward hug, I said goodbye to Headmistress Cullen and headed out the door.

"Where's your dorm?" I pulled out my orientation package. "Uh.. Volturi?" Angela's eyes widened. "That's one of the nicest dorms! The Cullens occupy that space mostly. They must've had an extra space available, although I heard it was really expensive. How did you afford it?" I fidgeted, uncomfortable with discussing my wealth. I preferred not to flaunt anything. "My dad, I guess." I shrugged. "Who's your dad?" Asked Angela. "Charlie Swan." She gasped again. "As in, the CEO of Swan Industries?" I nodded. "Wow, I can't believe I didn't make the connection!" I smiled. "That's a good thing." "Well, I guess that explains most things." I smiled again, and hurried to change the topic. "So where's your dorm?" ".. It's in Nomad." I suspected she was embarrassed about that fact. Why was I so bad at picking conversation topics? "So what are the things to do around here?" That seemed like a safe topic to discuss. Angela brightened. "Oh, lots! You can take the bus, or a car if you've got one to the main square. That's where we go for most city activities, like shopping. There are also quite a few bookstores and restaurants around there as well. But if you were referring to on campus, we've got an indoor pool , gym, spa, an outdoor spa and hot spring, which only gets used in the winter, and we've also got a big gymnasium that we use for dances mostly." I was flabbergasted. How much did it cost to stay here?! "I'll probably get lost around here." I admitted with a wry grin. "I'm really bad at direction." Angela smiled. "Well good thing around here new people are assigned an older 'buddy' of sorts. And guess who's yours?" I smiled. "I hit lucky, huh?" I felt like Angela and I would become fast friends.

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed! Please leave me your thoughts!**

**xo**


	4. Chapter 4

**Alice and Bella get some bonding time!**

* * *

**BPOV**

"We're here! Do you have your key?" Asked Angela. "Yeah, somewhere in here…" I answered, and dug through my bag for my old school key. "Got it!" I held it up triumphantly. She smiled at me. "Go ahead and put it in there. I slid the key into the slot, and it turned smoothly. Once inside, I stifled another gasp. "Wow. This place is gorgeous!" The floors were covered with Persian carpets, and leather furniture dotted the lobby in a very tasteful way."Yeah. Nice, huh?" Angela's voice held a note of jealousy and sadness. "Which floor are you on?" "The second." "Ah so you've got the notorious Edward below you and the energetic Alice on top of you." I was confused. "Pardon?" "Oh, in Volturi you've got the whole floor to yourself. It's like a personal penthouse." We stepped into the elevator, and before long we were on the third floor. I slid my key into the slot once more, and we stepped through the cream double doors. I couldn't conceal my grin. It was such a spacious and cozy living space, that I would have no trouble settling in here. Beside me, I heard Angela quietly gasp. "Wow, this sure is nice. I've never been up here." I looked at her, surprised. "Are you not.. friends with the Cullens?" I asked her. She blushed. "Nah, they like to keep to themselves mostly. Except for Edward, that guy is all over the place." By this time, my curiosity had peaked, and I was dying to meet this character. "Do you want to unpack now or later?" "I guess I'll have to unpack later, I don't want to waste your time or anything. I'm sure you've got better things to do than to show a little freshman around. Angela smirked. "You're not little, Bella! You're taller than me! Also, I'll pretty much be your best friend for a week." I laughed. "That would be nice." All of a sudden Angela's phone started to ring. She still had a little flip Motorola. I planned on giving her an iPhone 5S at the end of the week to thank her for being so nice and for showing me around. "Hello? Yes. Okay. I'm kind of in the middle of something… Can we change the date? Okay. Sorry. See you." Angela shut her phone with a snap. "I'm so sorry Bella, I know I promised I'd be with you for the entire week but I've got to go do something really important. Is it alright that I leave you here? I'll be back and we can go to one of my favorite little campus hot spots for dinner tonight?" I smiled. "No worries, Angela! I'll be fine by myself. Thank you so much for showing me to my dorm!" "We'll definitely continue this tour tomorrow, alright?" "Yeah, I'd like that." I smiled at her, and she smiled back. She turned to leave, but I remembered that having her number in my phone would probably be handy. "Hey Angela? Can I have your number?" "Sure!" She smiled at me. We exchanged numbers, and she got back in the elevator with one more apologetic smile. "See you later!" I said.

Finally alone, I stood back to marvel in the beauty of my dorm. This was definitely one of the perks in having an upper class family. I was interrupted from my musings when a loud booming voice that I could easily identify as Emmett, came from the doorway. I spun around in surprise. All four of them stood there, with smiles on their faces. "Volturi takes some time to get used to, eh Bells?" Emmett asked. I blushed, "Yeah. It does." "What're you doing here?" Rosalie's melodic voice asked me, with a sharp edge. "I uh.. Live here." "You can afford it?" One of her perfectly waxed brows went up in surprise. "Yeah." "So what are you up to? Besides staring at the wall?" Alice teased. "I was about to start unpacking." "Well, we'll-" Jasper was interrupted by a suddenly very excited Alice. "Can I _please_ help you unpack?!" I smiled, slightly in surprise. "Of course, I'd love the help." "I'm sure she'll be fine, Alice. Control yourself." Rosalie scolded. Alice looked at me, with the hope in her eyes slightly deflated. "Uh.. I've got quite a few suitcases and I'm not the most organized person around.." I shrugged. "If she wants to help I'd love some." Rosalie narrowed her beautiful ice blue eyes at me. "Whatever. Come on, Emmett." He shrugged at me and with one last smile, they were out the door. Jasper said that he'd better go start getting in shape for basketball, and left for the gym.

"So! Where do we start?" Alice asked. "I think my bedroom's that way?" Alice laughed. "Oh Bella, that's the way to your guest bedroom! Your bedroom is over here." Confusedly, I stood up and followed her through a door, a hallway, and another door, which she opened with a grand fanfare. "Ta-dah!" My eyes widened. The floor was covered with a plush white carpet, and directly in front of me was a king-sized cream coloured bed with gold accents, and many pillows. "Wow." My feet shuffled me inside, and I could see a white leather couch with a flat screen TV in front of it on one side of my bed, and two doors on the other side. "Where do those lead to?" I asked. She winked. "Come on! One of those doors are my favorite part of the entire dorm." She grabbed my hand and yanked me through a door with a golden plate that said, 'Wardrobe'. I walked in, and it was a gigantic walk-in closet, with tons of railings and cabinets for my clothes. "Wow." "I know right?! I hope you're ready to go shopping!" Her eyes twinkled at the mere mention of shopping, and I got the fact that shopping was probably one of her favourite things to do. "I.. Yeah." I was at a loss for words. Who needed a closet this big? I probably wouldn't even use a quarter of it. She took my hand again and dragged me through the other door that said, 'Powder Room'. At least I wouldn't get lost in my own penthouse, that would be rather embarrassing. She opened the door, and the powder room was the size of my old bathroom. I could only see a tall shelving unit and a fluffy white chair with a huge mirror in front of it. I really didn't need a vanity. "Uh, Alice, where are the… facilities?" I asked, my face red. "Oh silly! Through here!" She guided me to another white door, that read 'Bathroom'. I finally spotted things that were in my old bathroom. A giant bath, a sink, a toilet, and two cabinets. The only thing new, was a small little Jacuzzi. "Us IB students get stressed quite often and need that little extra something." She winked. I laughed. "Yeah, I guess so." I was quite happy with St. Michaels so far, it was nothing I had expected. "Come on, we have to go unpack before the day ends!" I sighed. Unpacking usually took me about three days or so, mostly because I kept stopping in the middle and grabbing my book for a 'little' break, which usually led to a 'rest of the day' break. Undeterred by my sigh, Alice steered me out the three doors and into my bedroom once again, where my suitcases were piled ominously into a mountain-like shape.

"Alrighty then, chop chop everyone!" I giggled. "Let's do this!" I pumped my fist up. She danced over to a little spot in the wall and pressed the button in the middle, which presented a white iPhone dock. This place would constantly surprise me. She put her iPhone in, and we could hear Martin Garrix's 'Animals' come on. I smiled. This would be so much more fun with someone to do it with! I grabbed the top suitcase, with makeup in it. "I'll be right back!" I ran into my 'powder room' and unpacked the suitcase. Not that I'd frequently used it, but Renee saw makeup as an 'absolute necessity to a young woman' therefore I was forced into a Sephora, and Renee had spent about $6,000 on makeup. I arranged all my makeup meticulously. The one thing that I had to have organized, was makeup .Which was really ironic since I didn't even use it that often, but it was one of my funny little quirks. Once that was done, I headed back into my room. My 50 pairs of shoes were inserted into each of the individual cubbyholes. So I guess that was what that was for. "This dresser here has all your undergarments in it Bella!" Alice cheerfully led me over to the huge dresser. "I had no idea you owned some Nancy Meyer!" I blushed. "And why do you have so much swimming stuff?" She inquired. "I like to swim, I guess. It relaxes me, in a way." I replied, shrugging. "Are you going to try out for the swim team?" Alice asked. "I don't know, maybe." "You should!" All of a sudden, Alice's eyes lit up. "You definitely should." She winked. I shrugged in response. "Maybe." Sensing that conversation was closed, she smoothly changed topics. "What size are you in shoes?" "6." I answered. She squealed. "I just _knew_ it! We're the same size! Can I borrow some of your shoes sometime?" I smiled. "Yeah, sure. Half of them I never wear, anyway. I mean look at _these_." I held up a pair of black five-inch Jimmy Choos. "Death traps." I shuddered. She looked at me, horror-stricken. "Jimmy Choo _never_ makes death traps!" I shrugged. "I'd probably break my neck if I ever walked in these. You can have them, if you want." Alice lunged to grab me in a surprisingly strong hug. "You mean it?!" She released me, then looked at me with a smile upon her face. "Yeah, Alice." She squealed and hugged the shoes. "_Thank you thank you thank you_!" I smiled. "You're welcome, Alice. You'd probably get better use of them than I, anyway." She grinned at me, then the look in her eyes turned determined. "Come on, we're going to finish unpacking before dinnertime!" _That_ was highly unlikely.

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed! Please leave me your thoughts.**

**xo**


	5. Chapter 5

**I suppose this is a little bit of a filler chapter; but some Angela/Bella bonding time is always nice!**

* * *

**BPOV**

"All done!" About three hours after we had started unpacking, Angela had arrived with the intention of taking me to Milestones, one of her favourite restaurants. When she got here, Alice had told her that she was determined to finish unpacking today, and so Angela had readily agreed. She had gone down to Pizza Hut and had returned with one large pizza, and we spent the rest of the day unpacking together. Alice and Angela had gotten along quite well, although Angela was quite surprised that I already knew the Cullens before school had even started. True to her word, I had finished unpacking in one day, with their help. "Thank you so much guys. I would've taken at least 3 days to unpack!" Alice grinned. "Sure thing, Bella." "Happy to help anytime!" said Angela. We said our goodbyes, and they left to their own dormitories. St. Michaels was really shaping up to be one of my favorite schools. I walked to my large, wall-to-wall bookcase and pulled out my copy of Wuthering Heights, figuring I'd do some late night reading before bed.

The next morning, I woke up to a phone call from Angela. We arranged for her to come to my dorm in half an hour, which would give me enough time to take a shower and eat a quick breakfast before touring the rest of the school. I trudged into my huge bathroom, and took a nice long shower, relishing the feel of water droplets running down my body. I had always felt calm around water, and I was actually pretty graceful in the pool. Grandmother Swan had actually been an Olympic swimmer, so I guess that's where I got my swimming genes from. I planned to check out the pool later this week, once I got to know where everything was. I looked at the mini clock I had set on the counter, and checked the time. "Oh crap!" It was 5 minutes until Angela would be knocking on my door. I hurriedly shut off the water, got out of the shower, and being me I slipped and fell, banging my knee against the tile floor. "Ouch!" Muttering under my breath, I hobbled up and into my wardrobe room. I threw on a pair of yoga pants, a long sleeve shirt, and put my damp hair up into a ponytail. It would have a bump in it later for sure, but I would hopefully be going swimming today anyway. Either way, I didn't really care about outward appearances, so I shrugged and looked at myself in the mirror. "Well, as always, this is as good as it's going to get." I chanced a glance at the clock again. It read, '10:30'. Right on cue, I heard a knock on my door. "Come in!" I yelled, limping slightly into the living room. I saw Angela looking at me, with a slightly puzzled look on her face. "Bella, are you alright?" I nodded. "Yeah, I fell when I was getting out of the shower. Damn slippery floors." She laughed. "Be careful from now on!" I laughed along with her. "Let me just grab a granola bar and we can start the tour!" She looked at me again. "Do you have any food?" I smiled. "Of course!" What a silly question. I walked to the kitchen and opened the cabinet door. "Here, I'll just-" I stopped talking midway and looked at the empty cabinet in disbelief. "No food?" Angela laughed. "What a silly question, she said." She mocked, teasingly. "I… I must've forgotten to grocery shop?" It came out as a question. I was used to fully stocked kitchens. Renee always had a chef and a housemaid on hand. "Bella, here we have to do our own shopping." Angela smiled. "Come on, after our tour of the school I'll take you to main square and show you around. I blushed and nodded. "Yeah, that'd be good. Thanks." Angela pulled out a granola bar from within her bag, and handed it to me. "You're a lifesaver Angela, thank you!" She grinned at me. "Always come prepared!" I laughed. "I'll have to remember that." She winked. With bar in hand, we walked out the door, into the elevator, and out the double doors.

"So where do you want to start?" Angela asked. "Could you show me the pool?" "Sure. I brought a map along." She pulled out two maps and handed one to me. "Thanks, Angela!" I smiled at her. "No worries. Okay, so the pool is right next to the indoor gym. I guess we can go visit the facilities first then." Angela then led me to where I wanted to go, and we passed by some of the other dormitories. "Alright then. We're here!" She announced. I looked to see a building made almost entirely of glass. I could see a huge, rectangular shaped pool. "You use your dormitory key to get in to any of our facilities around here." She explained. I pulled out my key, inserted it into the lock and turned. With a quiet clink, the doors opened. "You're not allowed to use any of them past 9, though. That's one of the rules." Angela reminded me. I barely registered what she was talking about, as I was fixated by the huge diving board. Diving was one of the most fun things to do for me; the thrill of having adrenaline pumping through my veins, and then knifing through the water at top speed… I imagined myself at the top of the board, jumping twice to test out the board, then jumping off towards the water, feeling the wind on my face… "Earth to Bella?" Angela's voice shook me out of my dream. "Oh, sorry Ang!" She smiled. "It's okay. Do you want to continue with the tour?" I smiled back. "Sure!" Angela ushered me out of the pool. "Since you're on campus early, you can go visit there whenever you'd like, just don't forget your key!" "I'll try!" We laughed together, and headed off to find the hot springs.

After the tour, it was lunchtime, and we decided to grab a quick lunch at McDonalds when we got to the main square. So we hopped on the bus for a good twenty minutes, before getting off at a bustling area. "This is the main square! We better eat first, then I'll take you to see all the tourist hotspots." "Sounds good!" I agreed enthusiastically. Finding a McDonalds wasn't very hard; neither of us were in the mood to wait 30 minutes for our meals to come at a restaurant, and McDonalds was the obvious fast food choice. I lived for their salty, thin-cut fries. "I found one!" Angela said, pointing to its golden arches. "Let's go!" With that, we headed off towards the good promise of food.

"That was good!" Angela said. I agreed. It was nice to binge out on some junk once in a while, after eating salad for so long. When your mother was a supermodel, it was hard to eat anything fattening around her. Not that Renee would've let me; she constantly berated me about watching my figure, telling me that if I wanted to become a model one day, I'd better start getting used to salads and the vegan life. I was definitely not cut out to be a model; I was not confident enough to wear some of the ridiculously revealing clothing that you were required to wear, nor did I have enough balance to totter around on the six-inch heels that they wore. "Where do you want to go first?" Angela asked. "The bookstores!" I was looking forward to some of the eccentric collections that the old, cozy bookstores often had. "Well we've got your standard Barnes & Noble, but my favorite bookstore is owned by a lady named Mrs. O' Hara. She's a lovely woman! You should go see her one day; tell her that Angela sent you. I would take you there myself, except I'd get caught up with chatting and we'd most likely spend the entire day so…" She looked apologetic. I laughed. "No worries, Ang! I totally know what you're talking about. I had that same exact relationship with a bookkeeper named Mrs. Nathanson back when I lived in Phoenix. She was one of the few people I missed." I smiled at the memory. "There are a few more bookstores, that I can take you to, that are lovely. Come on!" And so we went into the six different bookstores; each one with its own charm. I told the bookkeepers that I would return this week; I looked forward to meeting them and chatting with them. I was an old soul; I preferred to converse about deeper topics than my fellow teenaged classmates were capable of. Although sometimes, I liked living in the moment and being 15.

Angela showed me around to each and every hotspot around the square like she had promised. The bookstores were my favorite, but I also liked some of the shops that they had. I personally loved vintage shops; that was a trait of mine that was definitely not shared with Renee. She despised them; she didn't understand why anyone would want to buy 'smelly old clothing that an old grandma probably died in.' I disagreed; I loved that a certain piece of clothing could hold so much history. Soon, it was dinnertime. Angela and I decided that we would go to Milestones this time, we were in the area and we were craving burgers.

After dinner, we took the bus back to our dorms. I thanked Angela for showing me around town and around the school. She, being the ever-pleasant person that she is, waved away my thanks. She asked if I wanted a day to myself tomorrow. I guess she must've seen the eager look on my face when we went into the pool. I nodded. "If you don't mind, I'd love to visit the pool!" "Great! Ben said that his mother wanted me over for dinner tomorrow, and he wanted to see me in the afternoon." "Ooh, who's Ben?" I asked her with a playful nudge to her side. She blushed. "My boyfriend. We've been together since freshman year." I smiled at her. "I'll have to introduce the two of you sometime!" "That would be great to have some more friends, thank you Angela!" I gave her a hug and she left, promising to ring me later. I nodded, and closed the door behind her. I was a little disappointed I couldn't visit the pool today, but tomorrow, I promised myself that I would break that diving board in.

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed! Please leave me your thoughts.**

**xo**


	6. Chapter 6

**I decided to do an APOV; Alice is my favorite character from Twilight. Let me know how you feel about supporting character POVs!**

* * *

**APOV**

"Alice! We're going to be late!" Jasper's voice carried over the throng of people waiting in line for baggage check. "I'm trying, Jazz!" It wasn't my fault that I had 12 suitcases. There were so many shopping malls in Phoenix! My family had decided that we would visit the sunny city of Phoenix, Arizona. Well, more like I decided and they complied. We had this tradition that each family member got to pick the vacation spot for the holidays. What better place to go than Phoenix? I needed a tan; I bought so much white clothing! Finally, after about ten minutes later, baggage check was done. I sprinted over to the plane, and got there in the nick of time. Jazz was most likely already inside, as I didn't spot him anywhere. I quickly made my way to my seat, next to a pretty brunette. She looked about my age, so I thought I should probably introduce myself. She had one eye open, so I knew I wasn't interrupting sleep or anything. "Hi there! I'm Alice Cullen!" The girl sighed, most likely out of tiredness. She looked a bit frazzled, but familiar. I swear I could've seen her somewhere… "Have I seen you somewhere before?" I asked her. She heaved another sigh. Wow, this girl sighed a lot! Finally, she spoke. "My name's Bella Swan." That last name sounded incredibly familiar. Swan.. Swan… Renee Swan?! As in, the famous supermodel? Excitedly, I asked her, "Your mother's name is Renee, right?" "Yes." Bella answered in a monotone. She must get this a lot, but I just couldn't help myself, I had so many questions! All of a sudden I saw Jasper appear next to me out of the corner of my eye. I turned to him, "Jasper! Did you know that Bella's mother is Renee Swan?!" Jasper smiled at Bella. "Howdy, Bella! My name's Jasper!" Oh. Right. I forgot they probably had never met before. At least they got to meet now! Bella smiled a little hesitantly at Jasper. "Hi, Jasper." Then dreaded awkward silence ensued. I realized that Bella was sitting in the middle seat, so I asked her if she and I could exchange seats. I wanted her on one side of me to discuss fashion, and Jasper on the other side so I could lean on him when I got tired. Bella merely got up and moved, with no argument. I was already beginning to like this girl! I had so many questions to ask Bella! Before I could start, the pilot's voice flowed out of the intercom, telling us to remain seated with our seatbelts on. Thank goodness they never talked unless they had to. They were cutting into valuable chatter time with interesting flightmates! "So, Bella, did you get to meet any famous designers?" I asked her. She hesitated a little before telling me that she'd met THE Karl Lagerfeld, among many of my other favorite designers! I barely concealed a gasp and started bouncing in my seat, like I did every time I got excited. I heard Jasper's small chuckle next to me. He knew how I got about fashion! "Oh my goodness! I would just DIE if I met Karl Lagerfeld, ever!" I had to ask her if she knew any of his secrets of design! I felt Jasper's hand on my shoulder. "Sweetie, maybe you should… Tone down the interrogation a little." Oh. I forgot, I was probably being a little too much to handle for Bella. She looked a little freaked out. I smiled sheepishly at her, and explained how I got worked up over fashion. She smiled at me. "It's okay."

We then talked about my favorite topic, but it was cut short by the air hostess asking Bella what she would like to drink. Oh, great. Pasta. I guess it was better than sushi, anyway. I couldn't stand that stuff. Pasta was okay. I looked at Bella; she seemed displeased by the food, with her wrinkled nose. "You hate airplane food too?" I asked her. "Yeah, I get kind of sick if I eat too much of it." Wow, she was just like me! "Me too! I'm not even hungry, what do you say we just sip on our sodas like the ladies that we are?" I wriggled my brows at her. "Sure, Alice." We got right back into talking about fashion. By dinnertime, I had giggled over stories of supermodel Renee. I never knew she was so scatterbrained! Bella was really funny, and I was starting to like her quite a bit. I wondered where she was headed. It made me feel a little sad that I would probably never see her again after this flight. When dinnertime came, I was about to start talking fashion again when I heard Jasper sigh, so I decided to change the topic and talk about our destination, for both of their sakes. She told me that she was being forced to go to 'some snobby boarding school in England.' I wondered if she was going to St. Michaels. I felt Jasper tap me in the side. He was probably wondering the same. In case of slim chances, I gave him a quick wink. I wanted to hear her view on boarding schools, it sounded like she had some frustration about boarding schools and I wanted to hear this, regardless of where she was going. "Why, do you not like boarding schools or something?" She proceeded to give me a rant on the superficial and self-obsessed mass of people that typically went to boarding schools. I could hear Jasper struggling not to laugh the entire way through. At least he waited until the end of her tirade to burst out laughing. He was nothing if not a gentleman. That's one of the things that I loved about Jazz. I could never resist not laughing when he laughed. "Which boarding school are you going to?" Jasper asked. When I was laughing, I saw Bella get a hurt look on her face. She must think that we were laughing at her or something! She muttered, "St. Michaels." Wow, we actually were going to the same school! Small world… I couldn't resist laughing even harder once I knew that she shared pretty much the same views as I did about boarding school when I first started attending. "So-sorry Bella, but we're going to the same school as you!" I squeaked out during laughing fits. I totally had to tell Rose! Bella turned a frightening shade of red, and she looked extremely embarrassed. She buried her head in her hands, muttering, "Oh no no no…" I had to stop laughing before I reassured her, so I took one final gasp and heard Jasper do the same a split second after me. "Hey Bella, it's okay. Some people at our school really are superficial jerks!" I thought about Tanya, Edward's girlfriend. '_Yes girl, I'm thinking about you!_' I still didn't know what Edward saw in her, really. All I saw was a heavily made up skank on the outside with absolutely no depth. She was like a pond. Shallow and superficial. Bella smirked at us. In that little moment, I felt that Bella and I had grown a lot closer.

I smiled at her. She still seemed a little worried. "That's great Bella, you'll have us when you come to St. Michaels! Don't worry, nobody bites. Except maybe Rosalie." I winked at her, and she looked at me a little confusedly. "Rosalie? Didn't you say everyone was really nice?" I was quick to reassure her. "Oh yes. They are all quite nice. Except Rosalie can be a little…"I trailed off. "Hostile. She doesn't really love new additions to the gang." Bella groaned, but with a happy look in her brown eyes. "Great." I giggled. "Well, we won't get any closer to our school for a long while and I'm quite beat. What do you say we pick up this conversation tomorrow morning?" I grinned at her. "Yeah. I'd like that." I smiled at her. She looked very pretty when she smiled, and so I told her. She blushed. She must not really like compliments, which was the exact opposite of half the female population at St. Michaels. Oh yes, she'd fit in seamlessly with us. "Thanks, Alice." Bella smiled at Jasper and I. "Goodnight, Bella." Jasper said. She replied with a simple, "Night." I realized that she must be really quite tired. I did have a tendency to overlook people's emotions, the exact opposite of Jasper, who picked up on them quite quickly, and accurately. I kissed Jasper quickly on the cheek, before telling him good night. The entire plane was silent, and I closed my eyes, and entered a dream where Karl Lagerfeld was offering me a job as head designer of Chanel.

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed! Please leave me your thoughts.**

**xo**


	7. Chapter 7

**Longest chapter yet! **

* * *

**APOV**

When I woke up, I only had time to say good morning to Jazz and Bella before I had to use the restroom. When I got back, breakfast was waiting for me. After breakfast, I asked Bella what classes she enrolled for. She blushed and told me she enrolled in full IB. I grinned at her. An intellectual! I grinned at her, and told her that Jasper and I did as well. I asked her which high level courses she enrolled for. She said, "History, English, and Biology." I told her that Jazz might be in her class. I was impressed; history was one of the harder high level courses. She nodded at me, and she seemed unsurprised. It must be because she saw him watching the special on the war of 1812 last night. I realized that Edward might be in her other two high level courses, and proceeded to warn her about him. I told her about his playboy ways, and she told me that she was not interested in 'trivial things like love'. I felt a little sad. She seemed so sure; yet so lonely. And she was so young, too! She seemed to have closed the door firmly in love's face. I vowed to get to the bottom of this, and change her views. I would not allow Bella to spend her later years as a crazy cat lady! However, I was satisfied that she wouldn't be one of those people that sneered at my warning. They were all about his pretty face, nothing else.

Soon after our plane landed, and we walked off the plane. I spotted Emmett instantly; he was very noticeable in a crowd with his big build. I saw Rosalie next to him, smiling at us. Rosalie was actually a very caring person; she was just protective and wary of strangers. Once Jasper and I reached them, Rosalie gave us a quick hug and turned to walk out towards Emmett's Jeep. She wasn't one to linger around pointlessly anyway. I turned to say goodbye to Bella, but she had mysteriously disappeared. I spotted her finally at baggage claim, struggling with her giant suitcase that rivaled the size of mine. "Hey Emmett!" He jogged back to me, with my suitcases in hand, followed closely by Rose. "Can you go help Bella over there?" I pointed to her. "Who, the pretty brown haired one?" Rosalie narrowed her eyes. I didn't know why Rosalie got jealous so easily; it was obvious that the only one Emmett's heart belonged to was her.

He readily agreed, and bounded over. Jasper and I watched Bella struggling with her case, nearly falling over on top of it. We saw Emmett lift that giant thing off and set it on the ground like it was a feather. I guess his muscles did come in handy from time to time. I could hear Emmett's loud voice introducing himself. She seemed a little dazed, then snapped out of quickly and shook his hand. I watched their exchange, and of course Rosalie had to be a little frigid towards a 'threat', and not shake her hand. Jazz and I exchanged amused glances. Emmett asked Bella who she was getting picked up by, and I could see her hesitate a little. I couldn't hear her reply, but I saw a huge man who was even bigger than Emmett interacting with Bella. She nodded her head at whatever he had said, and the man in question took all of Bella's bags, including the heavy suitcase of near-death from Emmett, and strode out of the airplane like a man on a mission. I saw Bella giving Emmett a quick wave before hurrying after the man. Rosalie looked very surprised, and they made their way back to us. "_That_ was Renee Swan's daughter?" She asked me in disbelief. I narrowed my eyes a little and confirmed what she had said. Emmett, sensing discomfort, picked up my bags again, and we made our way to Emmett's huge car. He put my suitcases in the back and we all piled in, and headed home to St. Michaels.

We took longer than usual to come back home, because of heavy traffic. We parked the car in the special parking lot of our dorm, Volturi. Emmett and Jasper took my bags again and we took the elevator up. Emmett thought it was 'so funny' to press every single button on the elevator. Emmett was a big child sometimes. Rosalie rolled her eyes, and let out a sigh. She was used to this. We all were. We stopped at Edward's floor, which was unsurprisingly empty. He was spending the whole vacation with Tanya's family, instead of his own. My mother Esme was quite saddened by that when he asked, but my father Carlisle had just shaken his head. He had given up on Edward a long time ago, but Esme with her big heart, had refused to give up. However, on the second floor which we were used to being empty, we were all surprised to see the doorway open. Overtaken by curiosity, Emmett and I had peered inside. We all did a double take when we saw Bella standing inside, gazing at the wall. We all watched her for a minute, too surprised to do anything. Then Emmett spoke. "Volturi takes some time to get used to, eh Bells?" Her loud voice must've surprised Bella, because she spun around and once she spotted us and comprehended Emmett's teasing remark, she blushed. "Yeah. It does." "What're you doing here?" Rosalie asked, with a sharp edge to her voice. "I uh.. Live here." She answered. "You can afford it?" Rosalie harshly asked, with one brow arched. "Yeah." A beat of silence passed before I decided to speak. "So what are you up to? Besides staring at the wall?" "I was just about to start unpacking." She said. Jasper started saying something, but I was too excited that she was going to open her beautiful Louis Vuitton suitcases to reveal, I'm sure even more designer clothing! I cut him off mid-sentence and I practically begged her to let me unpack. I _had_ to see what was inside! The daughter of a supermodel who had met Karl surely would have some limited edition clothing. "I'm sure she'll be fine, Alice. Control yourself." Rosalie's biting tone scolded me. I suddenly realized that Bella might say no. However, that depressing thought was instantly squashed by Bella's light voice trying to stand up to Rosalie in her own way. Rosalie narrowed her eyes at Bella. The first argument with Rose was always the scariest. "Whatever. Come on, Emmett." Rosalie turned on her heel and walked back into the elevator. She looked expectantly at Emmett, who gave one last shrug and smile to Bella before joining Rosalie. Jasper, probably looking to get out of dealing with me in fashion mode, excused himself to go to the gym.

"So! Where do we start?" I asked. "I think my bedroom's that way?" Bella said while pointing to the direction of the guest bedroom. I laughed. "Oh Bella, that's the way to your guest bedroom! Your bedroom is over here." Bella stood up and followed me to her bedroom, which I opened with a slightly exaggerated, "Ta-dah!" Her eyes widened as she took in the subtle beauty of her bedroom. Volturi was really quite nice. "Wow." She let out a breath, and stepped in to get a closer look. I smiled, remembering my first reaction when I saw my bedroom. It was a classy girl's dream bedroom. Of course, the guys' were a bit different. I followed Bella in after giving her a minute to absorb the beauty. "Where do those lead to?" She asked while pointing to the doors that led to the wardrobe and powder room/bathroom. I winked at her, then explained that through one of those doors led my favorite part of the entire dorm. The wardrobe room. I grabbed her hand and took her through. "Wow." That was probably the only coherent thought that was running through her mind right now. I remembered that when I first came to St. Michaels and saw the wardrobe room, I was speechless. So, she was doing better than I did. "I know right?!" I hope you're ready to go shopping!" I excitedly told her. She had only brought 7 suitcases, one of those which I was sure contained her makeup. 6 suitcases was not enough to fill even an eighth of this glorious room. "I.. Yeah." Bella seemed dazed. I decided that we would be spending a lot of time in this room, unpacking and all, so I took her hand and led her into the powder room. Confusion passed across her face before she blushed and asked me where the 'facilities' were. I barely managed to contain my laugh and guided her through the actual bathroom. I explained how us advanced students had to relax, thus the Jacuzzi. "Come on, we have to go unpack before the day ends!" I reminded her, and she sighed. I could sense that she hated this sort of thing. I, on the other hand, whenever designer clothing was involved, I was game. I steered her back into the bedroom, where her suitcases lay. With some difficulty, we moved all the suitcases into the wardrobe room. "Alrighty then, chop chop everyone!" Bella giggled. "Let's do this!" Even she seemed a little excited, pumping her fist in the air. I danced over to the hidden iPhone dock, and tapped on my playlist that I would always listen to when I unpacked. The first song was Martin Garrix's 'Animals' which I loved to get my heart rate up and pumping. Bella smiled. She grabbed the top suitcase and ran out the door, presumably into the powder room. So I was right! It did hold makeup. I would probably take a trip into her powder room and peek at her makeup soon. I giggled.

I decided that I would begin with the smallest suitcase, and work my way down. I opened the suitcase and lo and behold, it held her lingerie. I laughed to myself. I recognized some of these brands. La Perla, Christies, Lise Charmel, Cosabella… Damn this girl was rich! She must've spent a small fortune on all of these. Giggling, I put them all in the dresser. What was underneath all the lingerie surprised me though. Once I got halfway through, there was so much swimwear and gear. Vix, Juicy Couture, Gucci, 6 Shore Road, and Basta Surf was among Speedo and some of the lesser-fashionable-but-more-sport-oriented suits. I decided I would have to ask her later. She owned some of the top gear that Edward also owned. Upon realizing that Edward was also a college level swimmer, I grinned like the cat that ate the canary. _Maybe…_ A plan formulated in my head, and I couldn't stop smiling. I realized that I would probably have to get myself under control so that Bella wouldn't suspect anything. Once I finished organizing her lingerie/swimwear suitcase, I opened the four gigantic black suitcases. I thought they were clothes, but to my delight they turned out to be shoes! Vince, Frye, Rag & Bone, Marc Jacobs, Chloe, Jimmy Choo, Christian Louboutin, Pedro Garcia, Jason Wu, Alexander McQueen, Versace… This girl was loaded! I squealed at a pair of gorgeous five-inch black velvet and rose gold Jimmy Choos. These were very rare and limited edition! I was jealous of this girl's shoe collection. It was nowhere enough to rival mine, but maybe to rival Esme. She had much more limited edition pairs than I did, however. Bella looked to be about a size 6, same as me! I prayed that she would be. I wanted to borrow some of these shoes so badly! Then, I realized with a start that only 3 of the suitcases (that were all bigger, thank God) contained clothes! I decided that I would drag her to go shopping with me whether she liked it or not as soon as possible. I was interrupted from making a list of all the stores that we had to visit in my head, when Bella returned. I led her over to her dresser and told her what each of the drawers contained, then I teased her about the amount of lingerie she owned. I also asked her about the ridiculous amount of swimming material. She brushed me off, saying that it relaxed her. I sensed that this held some deep history, so I didn't probe any deeper. I asked her if she was going to try out for the swim team. She replied with a vague, "I don't know, maybe." I decided that this would be the cherry on top to my quickly solidifying plan, and encouraged her. Then I asked her what size she was in shoes. I sent a quick prayer up to God that she was indeed a 6. My prayers were answered and I squealed, asking her if I could borrow some of her shoes. She then strode over to her shoe cubbies and held up the gorgeous pair of Jimmy Choos that I had previously drooled over. She told me that they were _death traps_. Horrified, I denied her accusation immediately. She shrugged. "I'd probably break my neck if I ever walked in these." Then, she uttered the phrase that would make her number two on my friends list, right behind Jasper. "You can have them, if you want." She told me nonchalantly, like it was nothing. I lunged and grabbed her in a tight hug. "You mean it?!" I had to confirm what she had just said and that it was not a figment of my imagination. "Yeah, Alice." I squealed and hugged the shoes close to me. I thanked her repeatedly, and she waved away my thanks yet again. I grinned at her, and suddenly I was even more determined than ever to help her unpack fully, _today._

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed this extra-long chapter! I decided this would be a perfect way to thank you guys for the support.**

**xo**


	8. Chapter 8

**I tried for a little cliffhanger at the end, let me know how I did! Also, I'm not a swimmer so sorry about the technical terms. If anyone can help me out, I'd appreciate it, so send a PM my way if you can help! **

* * *

**APOV**

"All done!" About three hours after we had started unpacking, Angela, a lovely yet quiet girl had arrived. She looked very surprised to see me. Turns out that she and Bella were going to go to Milestones, but I had told her that I was determined to finish unpacking today, and Angela had said that she would be happy to help. Sweet girl. She had gone down to Pizza Hut to pick up a large pizza while Bella and I continued to unpack. I marveled at how smart she packed. All her bulky clothing were packed up in tight rolls, to maximize the space. Angela had come back about half an hour with a large pizza. We polished that off quickly, hungry from unpacking and dancing. Soon after, we had finally finished. We stepped back and marveled at our work. All her clothes were organized by color and season, and she hugged each one of us. "Thank you so much guys. I would've taken at least three days to unpack!" I grinned. "Sure thing, Bella." Angela said, "Happy to help anytime!" and with nothing else to unpack, we said our goodbyes and left Bella. I decided I would go visit Esme. I stepped into the elevator, and pushed the button to go down to the main lobby. I heard a smooth voice which I instantly recognized behind me, and I slightly jumped in surprise before turning around and pointing an accusatory finger. "You!" I nearly growled. He backed up a few steps, hands up in the air. He smirked at me. "Me. Nice to see you too, Alice." "Do you know how sad Esme was when you told her that you were going to spend your break with Tanya?!" His green eyes flashed with a deep grief before hardening. "Well the vacation was for family, and I'm _not _family." He growled back. Edward had been through a lot this year, and seeing that pain flashing across his face for a brief minute made me lose all the angry fire that sparked within me when he smirked. "Yes, you are Edward." I smiled softly at him. He sighed. I changed the topic. "So why are you back early?" His voice was quiet. "I needed some space from Tanya." Unable to help myself, I gave a tiny snort. "Don't we all? What did she do this time?" "Tried to go further." That was Edward's only explanation, but I understood. Even though Edward was a playboy, my aunt and uncle had raised him to be a gentleman, and even though he liked to fool around, he vowed to never do it with anyone unless he was completely sure and had complete faith and trust in their relationship. I nodded, and the elevator dinged, signaling our stop. "Are you going to visit Esme as well?" He nodded. "Yeah." Good, that gave me more time to talk to him. "So what are you going to do for the rest of the week?" I asked him. He shrugged. "Probably'll spend the majority of time in the pool. Gotta train up for the upcoming season." I grinned. "Why are you grinning like the cat that ate the canary?" He asked suspiciously. I merely kept grinning. "You're weird, pixie." Edward shook his head at me. My plan was starting off flawlessly, and I was damn proud of myself.

**BPOV**

I woke up the next morning with a big smile upon my face. Finally, today I got to go visit the pool of my dreams. I looked at the clock, and it read 5AM. I shrugged. I thought it was much later, but I had a knack of waking up early whenever swimming was involved. Angela had taken me grocery shopping two days ago, so my kitchen was fully stocked. I got up quickly, washed up, and ate a quick breakfast of scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast. When I was done, I put the dishes in the sink and went into my wardrobe room. I remembered unpacking yesterday; that was the most fun I had ever had in a long time. I rifled through my swimsuit drawer for a one-piece that I could also wear to sun in. The pool was equipped with various floating beds and other fun equipment, and I planned on reading on one of them, with some peace and quiet. I pulled out my Honlulu one piece by Prism. It was one of my more revealing black one pieces, but it was very comfortable and one of my favorites as well. I pulled my hair up in a ponytail and glanced at the clock. It read 6AM. I packed up my waterproof Tory Burch beach bag with the necessities; a copy of _The New Yorker_, a fluffy towel, my swimsuit, Kate Spade sunglasses, earphones and iPod. Even though it was the middle of winter, London was quite warm, and I loved the cold. I threw on a pair of yoga pants and my Deer Valley Academy Swim Team hoodie. I doubled checked that I wasn't missing anything. When I was satisfied that I had what I needed, I slipped my feet into my red TOMS and locked up. I checked my waterproof watch that was a present from Charlie. It read 6:15AM. My swimming workouts were often reverse of everyone because I relaxed first before getting into training mode, but I always relaxed at the end by reading in the pool. Today, I would most definitely start off with diving. I smiled, and when the elevator doors opened to the lobby, I promptly ran all the way to the swimming pool. I liked to run; I loved the freeing feeling that it gave me. I guess that explained why I was on the track team as well. Somehow, whenever I swum and ran, I could be considered graceful. Once I got there, I eagerly entered the glass doors, and breathed in the chlorinated air. I smiled. This was what I lived for. I walked slowly to the girls' change room, and changed quickly, locking up my bag in one of the stalls. I learned my lesson at Deer Valley in Phoenix when I thought that nobody else would be around; someone ended up stealing my beloved Chanel watch. Once I was finished, I slowly made my way to the hot tub, and sunk in, reveling in its bubbly warmth.

I checked the time on my watch. It read 6:30AM. I was careful to never be in the hot tub or steam room for more than 20 minutes. It cut into my training time, and I always felt lightheaded whenever I passed the 20 minute mark. I got up and stretched briefly before making my way to the diving board. It was easily 20ft tall. I smiled. I loved taller diving boards; this was the tallest I've ever gone on. The one at Deer Valley was only 15ft tall. Nobody ever went up to the top except for me; the rest were all wimps. I smiled at the memory. I decided that I would do 8 easy laps around the pool to get myself warmed up. I slid smoothly into the water with one baby dive; and surfaced with a smile on my face. I missed this. For two whole weeks. Sometimes I hated breaks; they deprived me of the pool. And Renee had forbidden me from the public ones, claiming they 'drew too much attention'. And Renee had never wanted a house with a pool; she was scared of the water, which was really ironic considering I lived for it. She didn't understand. Swimming to me was a necessity, like modeling was to her. After my 8 laps, I felt nice and warmed up enough to start diving. I climbed up to the 5ft mark, and practiced some of the simplest dives, like the pencil. After doing about ten of those, I moved up to the 10ft. I then progressed to my beginner dives; one somersault, two somersaults, three somersaults, a pike, backwards, a handstand to a somersault, things like that. Once I progressed to the 15ft, I added twists in between, tucked in somersaults, and other complicated movements. I finally moved up to the 20ft. I looked down once, and swallowed. Olympic divers were jumping off 32ft platforms; I shouldn't be scared of a 20ft board. My resolve strengthened, I tested the board twice, and jumped off. On my way down, I performed one of my favourite combinations that I never had time for with 15ft boards. I was excited by the fact that I could finally do my entire combination without getting it cut off when I was almost through. I sprung up, and flipped once, did three somersaults, two twists in between, a pike, and then I straightened, knifing through the water as if it were butter. I was never aware of the mysterious person that watched me from the moment I had entered the pool.

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed! Please leave me your thoughts.**

**xo**


	9. Chapter 9

**Enjoy the EPOV! Although you might be angry at me at the end… **

* * *

**EPOV**

I woke up the next morning, back in my old bed. I missed this. I had originally set to spend the entire winter break with Tanya; however, I had to leave and ask for space when she wanted to advance further into our two-year relationship. She was ready, but I wasn't. That was yesterday. I had promptly packed up my things and left, telling her that I would see her at school. She had practically begged me not to go, but I had to. And so, I caught the next flight out of New York and back into London. When I got back, the first thing I did was put all my luggage away and go into the main square to get some groceries. Once I did that, I visited Emmett up at the top floor, then worked my way down. I had gone down to Alice's floor, but she wasn't there. I had thought that she was gone shopping or something. I didn't really care. However, I was quite surprised when she entered the elevator from the second floor. She had seemed busy, and didn't even notice me until I spoke. She jumped in surprise before whirling around, with an accusatory finger pointed at me. "You!" I could tell she was quite mad, so I backed up a few steps with my hands in the air. She could be quite scary when enraged. Then I smirked at her, with my wall back up. "Me. Nice to see you too, Alice." "Do you know how sad Esme was when you told her that you were going to spend your break with Tanya?!" My eyes flashed. She had no idea what I was going through. "Well the vacation was for family, and I'm _not_ family." I growled back. Suddenly, I could see her anger dissipate, and the next time she spoke it was in a much softer tone. "Yes, you are Edward." The look of sympathy and understanding in her face cut deeper into my heart than when she was spitting words at me in anger. I sighed, not wanting to deal with this at the moment. "So why are you back early?" She asked. "I needed some space from Tanya." Then, I heard Alice snort. "Don't we all? What did she do this time?" It was no secret the rest of my family didn't like Tanya. Especially not Alice. "Tried to go further." That was all I was going to give her. I wasn't a very open person; I liked to keep to myself rather, although through my façade nobody was able to tell. Except Esme. But she understood that I would come to her when I was ready. And I wasn't. Not yet.

Alice nodded, and the elevator dinged, signaling the stop. "Are you going to visit Esme as well?" She asked. I nodded in response. "Yeah." "So what are you going to do for the rest of the week?" She asked. I shrugged. "Probably'll spend the majority of the leftover time in the pool. Gotta train up for the upcoming season." That was the truth. I was the captain of the senior boys' swim team since last year; and I needed to get back in shape. I looked at Alice. Her eyes were lit up and she was grinning rather Cheshire cat like. "Why are you grinning like the cat that ate the canary?" I asked her suspiciously. She didn't answer. She just looked at me with the mischievous grin on her face that I knew only appeared when she was planning something, with that glint in her eyes. "You're weird, pixie." I shook my head, and we walked in silence to Esme's office. When I saw Esme, the first thing she did was hug me fiercely. This reminded me of what my own mother used to do. "Hi, Esme." I smiled at her. "Edward Masen Cullen! Why are you back so early?" She asked. "Ah.. Long story mum. I don't really want to talk about it, but I just wanted to let you know that I was back." Her answering gaze was full of understanding. "All right, Edward. I'll talk to you soon." I gave both of them a wave, and left. I didn't really like sticking around for deep, familial chats.

The next morning, I woke up and glanced at the clock. It read 6:00AM. I always got up earlier than most; early morning swim practices made 6AM feel like sleeping in. I usually had to be at the pool by 5. I stretched leisurely, then decided that I would eat and go train at the pool. Plan made, I got out of bed and ambled into the kitchen to fix myself some instant oatmeal. When I finished that, I washed my bowl and put it on the draining rack before I headed into my wardrobe room. I threw my swim trunks into my swim bag along with a towel and an apple. That was really all that I needed. I threw on a red polo shirt and a pair of sweatpants, and slipped on my runners before heading out the door. I set off at a light jog towards the pool. I liked the tranquility that being on campus at break provided me with; both outside and in the pool. When I got to the pool, my watch read 6:30AM. I was just about to insert my key in and go inside when I saw a tall girl with chestnut brown hair get out of the hot tub. She had a gorgeous figure from where I was standing. Slim, but with the right curves. Her swimsuit didn't hurt either. It had a slightly low neckline and a nearly open back, with a thin strap tied around her neck and another thicker one tied across her back. That was one of the best things about the pool having an all-glass exterior. I could see through to the beautiful girls that often flocked to me. I I was curious as to who this was, why I had never seen her before, and what she was doing in my pool. I was just about to turn my key and demand to know the reason, all the while charming her with my classic 'Edward smolder', when I saw her head towards the pool area where the diving board was. My curiosity grew; I thought that she was only there to lounge around like the other beach bunnies of this school. I moved to a spot where the pool was in plain sight, and made myself comfortable, sitting on my swim bag. I watched as the brunette slipped into the pool with a baby dive. I chuckled to myself. '_She must be a beginner. Maybe I can show off some of my moves_?'

However, that thought went flying out of my head as she zipped around the pool eight times with practiced grace only an experienced swimmer could have. She then proceeded to walk very carefully towards the diving board. She got up to the 5ft mark, and did some basic jumps. I snorted. Of course, she was like the girls at this schools who would never pass the 10ft mark. However, her form was perfect, and I couldn't understand why she wasn't doing more advanced jumps. The brunette surprised me once again by climbing out of the pool after testing the 5ft a few times. She moved on to the 10ft, and did one somersault. '_Hmm. Maybe more advanced than I thought?'_ Two somersaults. I watched in fascination as she sprung up and turned three somersaults. Her form was beautiful; and her turns were fast yet controlled. I watched as she did two pike turns, and even flipped backwards. However, I was the most surprised by that point when she went into a handstand, hesitating about half a minute before she flipped over into a simple body flip. Then, she surprised me even more by moving up to the 15ft. I was fixated on her as she started to add twists, tucked in somersaults, and other various moves that only experienced swimmers and divers would know. Hell, they would have to be advanced to have control over the 15ft. When she surfaced for the fifth time, I was sure that she would leave by then, so I could start training. I didn't really like people watching me when I was in my zone and privately training. There was no way that she was going to move up to the very top… However, she surpassed my expectations once more and climbed up to the very top. She looked down once, and tested the board twice. My eyes widened and my breath caught in my throat. '_No way…_' I thought. She sprung up, and flipped once, did three somersaults, two twists in between, a pike, and then straightened, coursing through the water easily. That was even more than what some of the _guys_ on my swim team could do, and she rivaled me in technique and form. Less than thirty seconds later she resurfaced, with a smile that I could see from my position. She went back up onto the top of the board, and performed and even more complicated combination. She added a tucked in pike somersault into her combo, and I could tell why. She had just enough time to turn at the rate that she was going through all her other moves, that she could add in the somersault. I thought that this would be it. However, when she got up to the top, she turned around, jumped twice, and sprung up from the board. My mouth was hanging open by that point. Not only was she doing it backwards, but she was doing it with her eyes closed, and a contented smile on her face. She knifed through the water at top speed, and resurfaced again a minute later. I smiled, then thought to myself, '_Is this girl on the swim team?! She should be._' I decided that I should introduce myself, and before I could even get up I felt a tap on my shoulder. "Peeping Tom? I didn't think you'd stoop that low, Edward."

* * *

**A successful cliffhanger, if I must say so myself. I hope you've enjoyed this chapter! Please leave me your thoughts!**

**xo **


End file.
